Fire fighting auxiliary apparatus

ABSTRACT

A fire-fighting auxiliary apparatus which enables one person alone to easily and quickly connect the hose to the hydrant as well as to unwind and lay out the hose. The use of a hose which is spooled on a brakable reel and the handling of same in combination with a portable unit can most remarkably prolong the service life of a hose. For a synthetic fire hose especially spooled storage is very economical.

United States atent 1 Reich et al.

[ 51 Mar. 27, 1973 [54] FIRE-FIGHTING AUXILIARY APPARATUS [76] In entors: Arturo Reich, Elcksr Onlagen, Silv plana; Guido Huder, Surlej, both of Switzerland 22 Filed: Apr.3, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 25,453

[52] U.S. Cl. ..242/86, 224/5 F, 242/96 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65h 75/40, A45f 3/08 [58] Field of Search....242/86, 86.1 86.2, 86.3, 86.4, 242/96, 99, 85; 137/355.l6, 355.19; 224/5 B,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,567,483 12/1925 Bear 2242/99 3,206,087 9/1965 Tyrrell 674,045 5/1901 Sullivan ..242/86 X 2,398,805 4/1946 Pomeroy ..242/99 X 2,717,129 9/1955 McDonald ..242/96 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 867,954 2/1953 Germany ..224/8 836,968 10/1958 Great Britain. 1,104,000 8/1965 Great Britain 242/86 Primary Examiner-George F. Mautz Attorney-Markva & Smith [57] ABSTRACT A fire-fighting auxiliary apparatus which enables one person alone to easily and quickly connect the hose to the hydrant as well as to unwind and lay out the hose. The use of a hose which is spooled on a brakable reel and the handling of same in combination with a portable unit can most remarkably prolong the service life of a hose. For a synthetic fire hose especially spooled storage is very economical.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Patented March 27, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS ARTURO RE/QH Gil/DO HUDER BY W M #M ATTORNEY Patented March 27, 1973 3,722,823

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.6

L" I "G I'M Z w h a o INVENTORS ARTURO RE/QH BY ama Ha 0512 My), PM

ATTORNEY FIRE-FIGHTING AUXILIARY APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The hitherto used fire hose boxes wherein fire hoses are placed in zigzag layers have the'disadvantage of causing too much wear and tear, due to the repeated bending of the hose. This shows particularly when the new fire hoses made of synthetic material are used. Trailers are used to transport these hose boxes or also frequently used hose reels. Two men at least are needed for taking the hose out of the hose box as well as for the unwinding from a hose reel and laying out of the hose. To unwind the hose from the reel, a bar is inserted through the hollow reel axle which has to be held by two men, while the hose is unwound from the reel by a third man.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention a firefighting auxiliary apparatus is provided. It constitutes a portable unit whereon a reel having brakes is attached. The carrier of the apparatus can carry the hose to the place of use, unwind it and lay it out without anybodys help.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a side view of the apparatus with the reel, jet pipe and hydrant key, without hose and carrying straps, seen from the one side;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus with the reel, jet pipe and hose lock key, without hose and carrying straps, seen from the other side;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus, hydrant key and hose lock key, seen from the turned away side of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a plan view to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a chart presentation of the fire-fighting auxiliary apparatus, fully equipped, seen from the side; and

FIG. 6 is a chart presentation of the fire-fighting auxiliary apparatus, fully equipped, seen fromthe top.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The shown apparatus comprises a light metal support plate 1 which is laterally strut upwards by two strut welts 2. On each side of the support plate I two rectangularly arranged support frames 3, comprising supporting posts 4, are secured by screws 3" (FIG. 3), which are fixed by a connecting prop 4', thus forming together with the support plate I a portable unit, which can be back-carried by means of carrying straps 5 (FIG. 5 and 6). The ends of the carrying straps 5 are looped through double slotted holes 6 (FIG. 3) in the support plate I and fixed by rivets. Two perforated disks 8 connected by a hollow axle 7 form the hose reel.

The latter is also made of light metal and is rotatably mounted in bearings 10 by means of axle journals 9 in the horizontal part of the frame 3, which is provided with reinforcers 3. Two set screws 11, serving as reel brakes, are acting on a brake disk 12 fixed to the adjacent hose reel, thereby preventing any undesired unwinding movement of the reel. Stop screws 13 are securing the reinforcers 3 to the frame 3.

The hose 14 is spooled on the reel 7, 8 and with .its outer hose coupling member 15, provided with front gearing cams to be connected to the hydrant, connectable to a first bayonet slot 16 arranged in the middle upper portion of the support plate 1. After unwinding of the hose 14, the inner hose coupling member 17, resting against the hollow axle 7, is connectable to the jet pipe 18. For use, the latter is connectable with its coupling part 18' to the inner hose coupling member 17 of the hose 14. If not in use, the jet pipe 18 is connectable by its coupling part 18 to a second bayonet slot 16 arranged in the middle lower portion of the support plate 1. A hose lock key 22 is releasably mounted on the one of the support frames 3 by means of holders 23', 24. The other of the support frames 3 is provided with ahydrant key 19, which is in an easily removable manner held by holders 20 and 21 of the respective support frame. A hose carrying strap 26 is suspended on a first hook 25 arranged in the one side portion of the support plate 1, this carrying strap 26 serving to hold the hose in a known manner. The lower part of the hose carrying strap 26 is held by a first clamp 27. The latter is secured by a screw 27' (FIG. 3) to the support plate 1. 28 designates a grappling rope hanging on a second hook 29 arranged in the other side portion of the support plate I, the lower part of the grapping rope 28 is held by a second clamp 30 which is secured to the support plate 1 by a stop screw 30' (FIG. 3).

The herein described fire-fighting auxiliary apparatus has a height of 750 mm, a width of 500 mm and a depth of 500mm. It only weighs about ID to 12 kg, which makes it easy to carry to and to operate at the place of use by any fire-fighter or helper. At the place of use the outer hose coupling member 15 of the hose is detached from the upper bayonet slot 16 on the support plate 1 and connected to the hydrant. Thereafter, the apparatus is carried on the back of a fire-fighter to the scene of tire, simultaneously, the hose unwinds from the reel 7, 8. In this manner, depending on the distance, two or more hoses can be connected toeach other, each of them carried by one man only. To the inner hose coupling member l7, headed to the tire ladder, the jet pipe is connected which has been taken off the support plate 1 for that purpose.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to a now preferred example and embodiment of the invention it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended, therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, We claim:

I. A portable fire-fighting auxiliary apparatus comprising in combination:

a. a support plate having front and rear surfaces and top, bottom and side edges, said front surface of said plate including side portions and an offset middle portion which formsa vertically extending centrally located recessed portion between said side portions to reinforce said plate,

. a pair of straps on the front surface of said plate attached at the opposite ends to said side portions for securing the apparatus to the back of a person, said recessed portion of said support plate serving to centrally retain said apparatus on the back of a person,

c. spaced parallel frame members extending rearwardly from said support plate and located a spaced distance from said bottom edge of said support plate,

d. at least one leg mounted on each frame member a spaced distance from said support plate and extending downwardly to rest along with the bottom edge of said support plate on a surface e. a reel rotatably mounted between said frame members for retaining a coiled fire hose,

f. a brake disc mounted on said hose reel,

g. screw means on at least one of said frame members for adjustably applying frictional pressure to said brake disc to retard rotation of said hose reel, and 

1. A portable fire-fighting auxiliary apparatus comprising in combination: a. a support plate having front and rear surfaces and top, bottom and side edges, said front surface of said plate including side portions and an offset middle portion which forms a vertically extending centrally located recessed portion between said side portions to reinforce said plate, b. a pair of straps on the front surface of said plate attached at the opposite ends to said side portions for securing the apparatus to the back of a person, said recessed portion of said support plate serving to centrally retain said apparatus on the back of a person, c. spaced parallel frame members extending rearwardly from said support plate and located a spaced distance from said bottom edge of said support plate, d. at least one leg mounted on each frame member a spaced distance from said support plate and extending downwardly to rest along with the bottom edge of said support plate on a surface e. a reel rotatably mounted between said frame members for retaining a coiled fire hose, f. a brake disc mounted on said hose reel, g. screw means on at least one of said Frame members for adjustably applying frictional pressure to said brake disc to retard rotation of said hose reel, and h. a pair of bayonet slots at spaced locations in the recessed portion of said support plate for releasably retaining a bayonet type coupling on the free end of said fire hose and a bayonet type coupling end of a jet pipe respectively.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a first retaining means for supporting a hose carrying strap.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a second retaining means for securing a grappling rope.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a third retaining means for securing a hydrant key. 